{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-doggett-defends-johnson-amendment-preserves-integrity-independence", "Rep. Doggett Defends Johnson Amendment that Preserves Integrity & Independence of Religious Organizations", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Lloyd Doggett", "D000399", "doggett.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, defended the Johnson Amendment, in support of Congressman John Lewis\u2019s (D-GA) amendment, which would restore the 63-year standard that prohibits religious, non-profit, charitable, and related organizations from engaging in political activities. You may view Rep. Doggett\u2019s full speech here.\u00a0A portion of Rep. Doggett\u2019s remarks in Committee are below:\n\u201cWe don\u2019t need a First Church of Political Expediency, or a United Congregation of Available Political Endorsements, or a Megachurch of Mega PACs, and that\u2019s where this bill would lead. \u00a0\n\u201cWhat President Johnson as a senator did, was to ensure that political activity cannot be done with tax-deductible funds. There is enough damage already done to our elections laws and campaign laws \u2013 let\u2019s not involve our places of worship to become manipulated by wealthy donors and partisan interests to change them from their valued religious purpose.\u201d\nMore than 4,500 charities and over 100 religious leaders have voiced their support for maintaining the Johnson Amendment.\nYou may also view Rep. Doggett\u2019s full speech on his amendment to restore critical education deductions eliminated in H.R. 1, introduced this morning, here.\nYou may view Rep. Doggett\u2019s full speech on his Stop Outsourcing of American Jobs amendment, introduced yesterday, here.\nYou may view Rep. Doggett\u2019s full speech on his Motion to Postpone amendment, introduced Monday, here.\n###\nFollow Lloyd Doggett\nFacebook:\u00a0www.Facebook.com/RepLloydDoggett\u00a0|Twitter:@RepLloydDoggett\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram:@RepLloydDoggett", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-doggett-defends-johnson-amendment-preserves-integrity-independence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9582550264894962, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}